A New Partnership
by 1-1 Marines
Summary: Takes place after the first chapter of The Empire Cracks Down. Spoilers ahead, people. This is your final warning.


**ME: Time for a neat little twist to the finale of Season 1 of Rebels.**

Brigadier General David Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau did not like working for Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, the arrogant Regional Governor of the Outer Rim. He was a blue blood Eriaduan of the Tarkin family-admittedly not quite as pampered and spoiled as Baron Valen Rudor, an actual aristocrat (and thus the semi-competent TIE pilot had not earned his title like Captain Soontir Fel, the Corellian CO of the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing, an elite unit under Lord Vader's direct command)-and couldn't have struggled nearly as much as Kallus had to climb up from his modest blue-collar Coruscanti roots. Worse, if the report he had received was any indication (which conveniently failed to mention the High Inquisitor he had served under, as well as the captured Jedi), he had lost a valuable prisoner and Imperial asset.

 _As much as he was prone to focusing on the Jedi and_ somewhat _theatrical, I actually liked that Pau'an. A shame he never told me his name._ _Failure now has consequences, Tarkin? Let's see how the Emperor punishes_ you _for losing such a valuable_ _servant of his._

His comlink beeped. "Agent Kallus, sir, this is Captain Zataire. Come in, over."

The COMPNOR officer responded within seconds. "Go ahead, Captain."

"Sir, it appears that the Grand Moff has returned. He requests that you meet him when he lands, General Kallus. Over."

He instantly started walking to the hangar where Kallus, the Inquisitor, and Minister Maketh Tua had greeted the Governor. "I'm en route, Captain. Interrogative: Is the _Sovereign_ present? Over."

"Checking now, sir. Please stand by..." Kallus counted to thirty seconds. "Negative, Agent Kallus. For whatever reason, sir, the _Sovereign_ is not in the system. In fact, it appears Governor Tarkin has returned his flag to the _Executrix_ , General Kallus."

 _What a hypocrite. The Governor yells at myself and my colleagues-Minister Tua isn't even a reserve officer like Planetary Governor Arihnda Pryce, so she really shouldn't even be yelled at in light of her superior's absences that border on dereliction of duty-over failing to catch a rebel cell that's barely larger than a fireteam in light of the incompetent troops trained by Aresko and Grint-thank the Emperor they're no longer screwing things up, even though their execution was a obviously a warning to myself, the Minister, and the Inquisitor, who had to personally decapitate them-but can't keep a kriffing_ ISD _from being destroyed by said cell? What a karking_ buffoon _. Where's Lord Vader when you need him to_ terminate _such a worthless fool like Tarkin._

Regardless, Kallus remembered to hold his tongue when the _Sentinel_ -class landing craft came into view. He halted shortly after the ship landed and stood at attention as the ramp lowered and Tarkin exited.

"We are getting reports of unrest all over Lothal," the Brigadier General began, careful to keep his feelings regarding the Governor from being expressed on his face. "There are whispers from Mustafar. Some people see the Empire... as weak, vulnerable."

"Not to worry, Agent Kallus," Tarkin replied calmly; it was as if he hadn't lost what had to be thousands of Imperials aboard the _Sovereign_ ; the Inquisitor was undoubtedly one of many, a statistic that overall would not bother Tarkin within all odds. "The Emperor has sent an alternative solution."

Suddenly Kallus heard mechanical breathing and looked to his right. _Fierfek, His Imperial Majesty has dispatched_ Lord Vader _!_

Thankfully, the Emperor's Executor (Lord Vader's formal title, though he held no rank in the Imperial Military like Tarkin; in fact, if Kallus was correct, the Emperor gave and took the Executor's powers and assets away as he pleased) merely passed Kallus without comment. Then he heard a woman's voice.

"David Kallus, isn't it?"

He turned and found two other passengers in the shuttle. The older one looked Mirialan with her olive complexion and geometric tattoos. She was dressed in a simple black cloak that reminded him of the Emperor's simple and tasteful clothing; however, the hood was down, and Kallus took in her dark hair and ice blue eyes. The other was a Human girl who looked around twelve or thirteen, wearing a gray tank top with a black Imperial Seal and black combat pants tucked into identical combat boots. She was a bit more colorful than her master, with red hair and green eyes. He noticed a pair of blasters at her hips.

 _Are those DC-15s sidearms?_

Deciding not to respond to her question with a question, Kallus simply told the Mirialan the truth. "Affirmative, my lady. I am Brigadier General David Kallus, Agent of the Imperial Security Bureau."

"High Inquisitor Barriss Offee," she replied before introducing the girl. "This is Commander Mara Jade, my apprentice. She will be subordinate to you in light of her current rank."

Kallus nodded. "I wonder if the rebel terrorists expect the Imperial Inquisition after the demise of your predecessor, Lady Offee. But that is a rhetorical question, my lady; the only hope we have of surprise is victory fever on the part of the local cell."

Lady Offee smiled. "Do not worry, General Kallus. No one expects the Imperial Inquisition."

 **ME: A/N: Yes, Mara uses the same pistols from Republic Commando. Which means she never will run out of ammo. I figured Dark Jedi are more prone to Combat Pragmatism than Jedi, plus the Emperor's Shadow Guard (from The Force Unleashed) had concealed blasters like the regular Royal Guard, so there is precedent for this.**

 **I also lampshaded the fact Governor Pryce failed to show up at all in Season 1. Her being a reservist is due to the fact I think one of the Moffs in Legends was, which probably applied to all of them (I think he actually wore a civilian uniform if Wookieepedia's right to stress the post was a fundamentally civilian one).**

 **Mara's tank top is to both highlight her being athletic and provide Fanservice without being tasteless (read: Ahsoka's outfits in TCW, though her second outfit didn't show off nearly as much chest as the first and her Rebels design is arguably pretty modest). No cleavage, boys (and girls); this is Star Wars, not Star Trek (where miniskirts without even leggings like Ahsoka's first outfit are considered appropriate for a government paramilitary organization).**

 **Also, anyone notice how it seems Inky's lightsaber isn't a unique design? Judging by the trailer, it's likely standard issue in the Inquisition, similar to the Imperial Knight lightsabers (though unlike the Knights, judging by the trailer-again-odds are they have a dress code rather than a standard uniform).**

 **And now for a rank structure for the Inquisition.**

 **Grand Inquisitor: Head honcho, reports directly to Palpatine but is still outranked by Vader. Equivalent to Grand Master (I.e. Yoda).**

 **High Inquisitor: Effective equivalent to a member of the Jedi Council rank wise.**

 **Chief Inquisitor: Effective equivalent to a Jedi Master. Either promoted because of successfully training at least one Apprentice and/or high performance otherwise. Like Jedi Master, this rank isn't exactly handed out like candy.**

 **Inquisitor: Effective equivalent to a Jedi Knight. They are considered more capable of completing assignments on their own than Apprentices due to being better trained and more experienced.**

 **Apprentice Inquisitor: Effective equivalent to a Jedi Padawan. Selected for one-on-one training, they are one step closer to becoming a full member of the Inquisition. They do not wear braids because of their association with the Jedi Order, and if Palpatine's any indication don't get as much respect from their seniors.**

 **Initiate Inquisitor: Effective equivalent to a Jedi Initiate/Youngling. Pretty self explanatory. Not cleared for field work, owing to you-know-what.**

 **Inquisitors and higher are addressed as "Lord/Lady", their rank, or simply "Inquisitor" (if Inky's anything to go by). Apprentices are "Sir/Dame" or "Commander," with Mara preferring the latter title. Initiates aren't expected to interact with regular Imperials, so no fancy title for them.**

 **Finally, a Five-Man Band and a Five-Bad Band for Season 2. Okay, these aren't traditional but you guys can still get it.**

 **Rebels:**

 **The Big Good: Senator Bail Organa.**

 **Mission Control/Voice with an Internet Connection: Ahsoka/"Fulcrum." She's apparently gonna be the Obi-Wan (alleviating fan concerns about her stealing the show)-in fact, I have a headcanon where she takes over for Hera and ends up flying the _Ghost_ most of the time, going by "Spectre Zero" whenever she isn't talking to the higher ups in the rebellion (who she reserves her "Fulcrum" call sign for in light of the fact the crew doesn't exactly disguise their voices over their radios/comlinks). It would be a good way of giving Hera more screen time while keeping Ahsoka relevant.**

 **The Leader: Kanan since he's the field commander for the crew.**

 **The Lancer: Hera in light of her position in the crew, plus the fact she communicated with Ahsoka rather than Kanan (which, as pointed out in-universe, was a smart compartmentalization on their part for obvious reasons).**

 **The Smart Guy: Chopper, though he's significantly ruder than average.**

 **The Big Guy: Shared between Sabine and Zeb.**

 **The Heart: Well Ezra's a dude, but he is only 15 as of Season 2.**

 **Imperials:**

 **Bigger Bad: Palpatine. Need I saw more?**

 **Co-Big Bads: Vader and Tarkin, somewhat similar to ANH and the Tarkin novel.**

 **Co-Dragons/Heavies: Barriss and Kallus. Barriss would be a good recurring villain since she'd be competent but not all but unbeatable like Vader. Kallus did more or less serve as the Brute of Season 1 similar to *spoilers* Rumlow in TWS, though like a certain Hydra agent he was more along the lines of a Mook Lieutenant than simply dumb muscle.**

 **The Evil Genius: For all we know we'll either get a Mad Scientist or a Cracker (not a racial thing-Cracker simply means an evil hacker). Considering how Ahsoka communicates as "Fulcrum," the latter would be a good, direct threat to the rebels actually by the standards of this Trope.**

 **The Brute: There is Captain Crest and Lieutenant HK-047 for my headcanon, though they're more along the lines of Mook Lieutenants than thugs. A straighter example would be, say, a Cold Sniper and/or a weapons/explosives expert (think an evil Sabine).**

 **The Dark Chick: Mara. She is younger than even Ezra, after all.**


End file.
